Unfair but balanced commentary on tax and budget policy, contemporary U.S. politics and culture, and whatever else happens to come up

Friday, October 03, 2008

IRS Chief Counsel Donald Korb steps down

Courtesy of the Tax Prof blog, I gather that IRS Chief Counsel Don Korb has stepped down effective no later than next January 19, so that the next Administration can start right out with his successor.

This is not a surprise, since no one would be expected to want to stay in the Chief Counsel job forever. But I personally will be quite surprised if the new Chief Counsel is ready to be named by January 20. So I suspect that Korb will be asked, perhaps even implored, to stay on, although presumably from his announcement he does not wish to do so.

Suffice it to say that he is leaving large shoes to fill. Don Korb was amazingly energetic, entrepeneurial, and effective in filling the Chief Counsel post. He did a great deal to raise his office's profile and value, both to the government and to taxpayers. He innovated internally and externally, worked hard to strengthen his staff, and provided important outreach and guidance that was good for everyone. The next Administration will be very lucky to find anyone who can match his job performance.

About Me

I am the Wayne Perry Professor of Taxation at New York University Law School. My research mainly emphasizes tax policy, government transfers, budgetary measures, social insurance, and entitlements reform. My most recent books are (1) Decoding the U.S. Corporate Tax (2009) and (2) Taxes, Spending, and the U.S. Government's March Toward Bankruptcy (2006). My other books include Do Deficits Matter? (1997), When Rules Change: An Economic and Political Analysis of Transition Relief and Retroactivity (2000), Making Sense of Social Security Reform (2000), Who Should Pay for Medicare? (2004), Taxes, Spending, and the U.S. Government's March Towards Bankruptcy (2006), Decoding the U.S. Corporate Tax (2009), and Fixing the U.S. International Tax Rules (forthcoming). I am also the author of a novel, Getting It. I am married with two children (boys aged 16 and 19) as well as four (!) cats. For my wife Pat's quilting blog, see Patwig’s Blog.